


Finding Them

by Embarassedbutkinky



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Idiots in Love, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-13 02:08:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18459266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Embarassedbutkinky/pseuds/Embarassedbutkinky
Summary: A Vegebul Soulmate AU. Everyone knows whatever you draw on your skin, your soulmate can see as well. However, you are strictly forbidden from telling them how to find you. Bulma is getting tired of waiting for fate to bring him to her. All human one shot.





	Finding Them

You  _ had _ to earn it. That was the rule. She fucking hated that rule.

It would make life so much easier if you could just tell them where you lived or where to meet you. Your name. Your address. Anything. It just wasn't done.

Small children were taught the rule long before they grew old enough to break it. Whatever you wrote on your skin, your soulmate could see on theirs. You could draw pictures, you could talk, you could even give hints if you were careful, but you couldn't tell them how to find you. If you did, your connection would be broken, and it would never return. You could try to date the other people who had lost their connections, but you'd be doomed to live without the certainty that you belonged with them. Her mother said it was something about trusting fate, but she thought it was stupid.

Like most people her age, Bulma had a slight obsession with finding her soulmate. For the first twenty-two years of her life, he'd been  _ frustratingly _ silent. She'd drawn all over her arms and legs all through high school to get his attention like most teenage girls. The difference was, most people got responses. He never wrote on himself, drew anything, or reacted to her messages.

When she reached eighteen without a single message, she decided she did not have a soul mate. Whoever it was must have died very young or broken the connection, and she would be doomed to date the other mateless drifters. She accepted her fate, but it was embarrassing.

During college, she decided not to tell anyone she had no soulmate. It wasn't unusual for people in their twenties to be single. Finding your mate took work, and usually the ability to travel to find them. Some never managed it. She decided to keep drawing on herself, just to keep up appearances. She wrote things like ‘Morning, Babe’ with her left hand to make it look like someone else had written it. On Valentine's Day she even drew a heart on her cheek and pretended to be embarrassed about it, like her soulmate had done something sweet for her.

It was her senior year of college when it happened. Bulma sat in her advanced engineering class, bored out of her mind as usual. She'd developed a habit of drawing on her hand to entertain herself. Today she was drawing a little bunny, then a carrot for him, then a little bunny house… it was a long class. The words appeared on her arm, just below her wrist.

_ Would you fucking stop that? _

She froze. A response. Her skin was connected to someone else. Her soulmate was alive.

And he was an asshole.

She immediately wrote underneath it.

_ And just where the hell have you been!? _

_ None of your business. Fuck off. _

Oh hell no. He didn't get to stay silent for twenty-two years and then tell her to leave him alone. She left the class immediately, thankful it was Friday. It'd take a few days to get the marker off.

She walked straight into her apartment and locked the door stripping off all of her clothes and going to stand in front of the mirror.

_ Asshole _ , she wrote on her arm.  _ Making me wait twenty-two years _ , she wrote on the other. She wrote all over herself:  _ Dickhead. You better talk to me. What's your problem? Fucking answer me. I'm not stopping anytime soon. _

It was while she was in the middle of writing  _ ‘Jackass’  _ on her forehead that the words appeared on her thigh, upside down so she could see them.

_ Knock it off! What do you want from me? _

_ I want to know why you never told me you were there! _ She wrote below it.

_ I don't need a soulmate. I'm busy. _

_ You're busy for the rest of your life? _

_ Yes _ .

_ I don't think so. We're destined to be together, Fuckface, so get with the program. _

He didn't respond for a bit, and she considered continuing her artistic assault. Finally, he wrote back.

_ I didn't expect this from a woman who draws sappy shit on her arms everyday _ .  _ By the way, I didn't even know it was a rabbit until you drew the carrot. Fucking awful rabbit. _

She paused, the gravity of what was happening finally hitting her. She was talking to her soulmate. He was there. He  _ existed _ .

_ Don't ever keep me waiting like that again or I'll get a permanent tattoo of that rabbit with a giant penis. Right on my forehead. _

He waited a while.  _ Well, I suppose my first clue is that you're illogical and annoying _ .

She grinned. That was the key to finding each other. Clues.

They came slowly over the next few years, twenty questions style like they were supposed to.

_ What are you doing?  _ She asked.

_ Working. _

_ Outside or inside? _

_ Outside. _

_ Are you exercising? _

_ Yes. _

_ Are you with other people wearing similar clothing to you? _

_ Yes. _

She thought he might be in the military, which might make finding him a bit harder, but she was willing to try. She knew he didn't move around much, he'd said as much.

She gave him clues as well.

_ I'm headed to class. _

_ I'm graduating soon. _

_ It's lovely at my house this time of year. _

_ I'd love to swim in the ocean one day. _

She wondered what the file he'd made on her looked like.

That wasn't  _ all _ they talked about. They wrote about life. Sometimes just a quick hello, sometimes a long rant about someone that pissed them off. He had a weird friend/enemy he called Kakarot he would usually complain about, but she could tell he liked him. Once he wrote a rant so long it filled up both of her thighs, and she had to get a mirror to see it all. She assumed his thighs must be significantly bigger than hers if he could write legibly across that much skin.

Then there were the more private messages that they wrote where they knew no one else would see them. He'd ignored her before, but he assured her there had been no one else. Like most people, they were instinctively waiting for their soulmate.

When she was twenty-seven, a message appeared on her hand-- a signal between the two of them that he was trying to give her a clue.

_ I am home after a long while. Kakarot is with me. He has never seen this place before, and he wants me to give him a tour _ .

A tour?  _ What are you going to see on this tour? _

_ First I am showing him an enormous park. Then we are seeing the ocean, then a large statue in the ocean. _

Her heart sped up. New York?  _ Where will you go after that? _

_ From there, we will go back to the apartment we are renting. It will not be a long journey. _

Her soulmate was in New York. She didn't hesitate. She asked for an immediate transfer with her job, she liked it too much to leave it. They weren't surprised she wanted to move halfway across the country, no one was. It was so common for people who hadn't found their soulmates to suddenly pack and move when they figured out where to find them that most companies had their own department set up to handle the transfers. She was congratulated and moved to New York in a matter of weeks.

The trouble was, the city was  _ big. _ He was already pushing it by letting her figure out he lived not far from the Statue of Liberty. Sometimes on her day off she'd wander around, wondering if he was somewhere in the crowd. She wouldn't recognize him if he was. Two years passed like that. The excitement of being in the right city faded. There was still a chance she'd never set eyes on him in her entire life.

It was Friday night, and it was cold. She sat at her mirror, putting on makeup that she really didn't want to wear. She'd promised she'd go to support her roommate, but she was already regretting it. It felt like a 'curl up in bed and read’ kind of night. She saw a message appear on her arm.

_ What are you doing tonight? _

She picked up one of the markers she had all over her room and answered.

_ Have to go out with my friend. Wish I could stay home and chat. _

_ Your roommate?  _ He asked.

_ Yes _ .

She couldn't tell him her roommate's name. Others names were against the rules as well. She only got to hear about his friend Kakarot because it was just a nickname, and she couldn't find him through that.

She had gotten along with Chichi well since the day she moved in with her, but the woman was… different. Chichi had grown up in a very religious community that had their own views on soulmates. Specifically-- they didn't like them. As soon as children in her community were old enough to write their names, they were encouraged to write it on their skin and break the connection with their soulmates on purpose. Chichi had done this, so she sometimes went on dates with other singles.

True singles were almost taboo. It was one thing if your soulmate died, but to choose a life of loneliness was sometimes looked down on. Bulma thought she might have been more squeamish about the situation if she hadn't spent the first twenty-two years of her life believing she was a single herself.

She was still a little uncomfortable tonight. Chichi had met another single on an app built for that exact purpose, but she didn't want to meet a stranger alone. That made sense, and Bulma agreed to go with her, but the concept of dating made her uneasy. How could anyone invest in someone they didn't know for sure they were a perfect match with?

He wrote back _. I wish you were staying home in bed. No, I wish you were in my bed. Fuck I want you. _

They were waiting, but they weren't saints.

_ I'll let you know the minute I get home. Maybe it'll be a bust and we'll make it back early. _

Chichi knocked on her door frame. “Ready, Bulma?”

_ I have to go. Later _ . She wrote out quickly. She pulled her small sweater over her arms, covering the writing. “Sure, Chichi.”

Chichi grinned as they headed out to catch a cab. “Ah! I'm so excited. Goku seems  _ really _ nice. He's definitely my type. I hope it goes well!”

Bulma smiled woodenly, trying to be supportive. Singles were weird. “I'm sure he'll like you.”

Chichi waited until they were in the cab on the way to the restaurant to drop the bombshell. “Oh, by the way… Goku's bringing a friend for you.”

“ _ What _ ? Chichi, what are you talking about? I have a soulmate!”

“It's just a  _ date _ ,” Chichi rolled her eyes. “You don't have to marry him. I told Goku I was bringing a friend for safety and he said he'd bring someone too so you wouldn't feel awkward.”

Bulma covered her face. Great. Now instead of spending the night talking to her soulmate she'd get to fend off some horny single.

By the time they arrived, Chichi's date had already gotten them a table. He wasn't hard to spot; he was a mountain of a man in a bright orange hoodie, and when he spotted her he waved wildly.

“Hey Chichi! We're over here!” He called happily.

Dog energy, that was the first description that occurred to Bulma. He was like a great big golden retriever in a man's body. Yep, that was Chichi's 'type’. 

As they made it to the table she took a minute to examine the man sitting next to him. He was shorter, frowning, and reminded her vaguely of a troll doll. A sexy troll doll, mind you. The button down he wore barely concealed thick muscles that she would have found pretty attractive if she'd been the kind of girl that would be interested in anyone but her soulmate. She wondered again what he might look like.

Goku grinned at them as they sat down. “Wow. You're as pretty as your pictures.”

Anyone else saying that line would have gotten some heavy eyerolls, but there was something so genuine about the man's tone of voice that it made both of the women smile.

“Thanks,” Chichi said, her face turning a bit red. “Oh, this is my roommate Bulma. Bulma, this is Goku.”

Goku shook her hand hard. “Hi, Bulma! This is my roommate Vegeta--”

“I am not single,” Vegeta said immediately. He had his arms crossed, leaning away from the women. “So that there is no confusion. I am here because I owe  _ him _ a favor, but I have no interest in dating. I have a soulmate.”

Bulma snorted. “Same here, Buddy.”

“And you're, what, looking to cheat on him?”

“ _ Excuse _ me?”

“Well, you're out looking for dates anyway. Pretty damn unloyal. I haven't even found my soulmate yet, but I would never betray her like that. I have no interest in anyone else.”

“For your information,” she spat, “I am  _ not _ interested in dating. Chichi made me come to make sure you and your giant ass friend here weren't axe murderers. I'm still not convinced. Besides, you're in the  _ same booth as me _ . If my being here means I'm cheating, you are too.”

“Hey!” Goku said genially, holding up his hands. “Vegeta, come on! You said you'd be nice.”

“You should have known that was unlikely.”

“Bulma, relax,” Chichi begged. “Let's just get some food and start over. Food makes everything better.”

“I might actually be in love with you,” Goku grinned.

“Fine,” Vegeta said, grabbing a menu. “As long as it is very clear that this is not a date.”

“Speak for yourself, Man,” Goku said, winking at Chichi.

Chichi and Goku did all of the talking, and their roommates sat in annoyed silence. Bulma was getting more aggravated as she sat across from this ass, but most of the anger was directed at herself.

She wanted him. She wanted him bad.

Why was she reacting like this? He'd barely spoken to her at all, and what he said had been rude. Still, she kept imagining slamming him down right here in the table. This was wrong. This was why people with soulmates shouldn't 'date’. She wanted to get home and talk to him, not look at this increasingly sexy jerk.

“It was a total accident,” Goku explained. “I was in the system a lot as a kid, no one told me I shouldn't write my name on my arm. I wrote something silly, I think, like ‘Goku rules’. So no soulmate for me.”

“Aw,” Chichi said, touching his arm. “That's so sad. I don't want a soulmate personally, but I respect those that do.”

Bulma smiled slightly. It looked like if there wasn't a table in the way, she'd already be in Goku's lap. The guy was getting lucky tonight. Good for them, she supposed. If she could do the same, she would.

“It hasn't been all bad,” Goku assured her. “I don't have to worry about finding 'the perfect girl’, I just have to find one I like. Plus, I'm free to get tattoos without affecting anyone else.”

“Do you have a tattoo?” Chichi asked with interest. They were rare.

“Yep,” he nodded, rolling back his sleeve. “I got it when we were doing basic training. It's the nickname they gave me.”

Bulma didn't even look. She just stirred her drink, hoping she could cut out soon. Clearly, Chichi wanted to be alone with the guy now. Maybe her duty as a good friend was over.

“Carrot?” Chichi asked, peering at it.

“Kakarot. It doesn't mean anything,” he said, laughing sheepishly. “Vegeta came up with it actually. He said Goku doesn't fit my face.”

Kakarot. She froze. What were the odds? He'd said himself the name was meaningless. And if this strange man was his roommate…

She stared at him with new eyes. He frowned, not understanding. Of course not; he didn't know Chichi's name. She grinned at him.

“ _ What _ , Woman?” He grumbled. “I've already explained I'm not interested in--”

She ripped her sweater off, baring her arms and holding them out to him.

He paused, glancing down at the words written upside down, reading them slowly. He unbuttoned his sleeve and rolled it up, holding it next to hers.

“It's you,” he said. The frown had fallen from his face. His eyes were wide. “I don't… I don't even remember what you said your name was.”

She laughed breathily. “Bulma. My name is Bulma.”

He dived forward, kissing her hard. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he practically pulled her over the table. There was some scattered applause through the restaurant; they all knew the sight of two soulmates meeting for first time when they saw it.

“Oh,” Goku blinked. “That was unexpected.”

Chichi sighed dreamily. “Aw. I admit, it's a little bit cute.”

“Maybe we should… leave?” Goku asked, clearing his throat.

She knew she wasn't exactly clinging to Vegeta the way people should in public. She had somehow ended up in his lap, and they hadn't come up for air yet. He finally pulled away from her mouth. “Come home with me.”

“Kay,” she agreed immediately. Her eyes watered a bit. She touched his face. “It fucking took you long enough.”

“Get lost for the night, Kakarot,” Vegeta said, grinning as he pulled her along with him. “I don't intend to be quiet about it.”

“Oh, noooo,” Goku said in mock horror. “It looks like I don't have anywhere to go for the night--”

“Shut up and call a cab,” Chichi smirked. 

 


End file.
